Points that stood out to me...
"Many blessings and friendships have come into our lives from our trying to share the gospel. But this blessing has been one of the best: Having the missionaries regularly help us as a family teach the gospel to new and old friends through the power of the Holy Ghost has profoundly affected the faith of our five children and brought the Spirit of God into our home."
"We found that the Doctrine and Covenants, as the instruction that God gave us for building the kingdom of God in the latter days, is filled with remarkable promises that God has offered to those who accept His call to share the Gospel. Far from putting the kingdom out of balance, if our ward and stake leaders were to focus on leading their members to share the gospel, many of the other problems that fester in our hearts and homes and in our wards and stakes would resolve themselves through the blessings that come from accepting the call that God has given each of us to be missionaries.
Promises of power and strength you will receive as you share the gospel:
-None shall stay you. (D&C 1:5)
-You shall receive strength such as is not known among men. (24:12)
-He Himself will go with you and be in your midst. Nothing shall prevail against you. (32:3)
-Power shall rest upon you. He will be with you and go before your face. (39:12)
-Your enemies will not have power over you. (44:5)
-The Lord will stand by you. (68:6)
-No weapon formed against you shall prosper. (71:9)
-He will uphold you. (93:51)
-The gates of hell shall not prevail against you. (17:8)
-You shall have power to declare His word. (99:2)
-Your tongue shall be loosed, and you will have the power of God unto the convincing of men. (11:21)
-Your mouth shall be filled and you shall become even as Nephi of old. (33:8)
-You will not be confounded. It shall be given you in the very hour that prtion that shall be meted unto every man. (84:85; 100:5)
-Your words shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, and shall be the voice of the Lord and the power of God unto salvation. (68:4)
-Your arm will be God's arm. He will be your shield and buckler; He will gird up your loins and put your enemies under your feet. (35:14)
Other blessings the Lord has promised to those who share the gospel relate to personal purity and increased faith:
-You shall stand blameless before God. (4:2)
-You shall be lifted up at the last day. (17:8)
-You will be given a testimony of the words of the prophets. (21:9)
-You shall have revelations. (28:8)
-Your sins will be forgiven. (31:5; 36:1; 60:7; 62:3; 84:61)
-You shall have great faith. (39:12)
-You will be able to keep God's laws. (44:5)
Consider the blessings that pertain to happiness, health and prosperity:
-You shall have blessings greater than the treasures of earth. (19:37-38)
-He will take care of your flocks (88:72), and your back shall be laden with sheaves. (31:5; 33:9)
-You shall not be weary in mind, body, limb, or joint and you shall not go hungry or thirsty. A hair from your head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed. (84:80, 116)
-Your joy shall be great. (18:14-15)
And perhaps most extraordinary of all, He has promised to fill us and our work with the Holy Ghost, to make us into better men and women:
-He will send upon you the Comforter, which shall teach you the truth and they way whither you shall go. (79:2)
-The Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record of all things, whatsoever ye shall say. (100:8)
-He will go before your face. He will be on your right hand and on your left; His Spirit shall be in your hearts, and His angels round about you, to bear you up. (84:88)
-He will bear you up as on eagle's wings; and you shall beget glory and honor to yourself and unto the Lord's name. (124:18)
-He will make you holy. (60:7)
We share the gospel because we know it will help others become better, happier people. But the blessings for us are priceless."
"Sharing the gospel doesn't just require that we have the power of God unto the convincing of men. It gives us this power."
"To build some portion of the kingdom of God, we must know what we need to do and we must know how to do it. Often the "what" of a calling is conveyed reasonably clearly. But teaching us how to do it is sometimes neglected. ... The Savior, as leader and teacher, was a master at the "what" and the "how." He has told us what to do, by giving us commandments. And He has told us how to do it, by giving us stories and parables. The brother of Jared, the good Samaritan, the prodigal son are role models for how He taught. Their actions illustrate principles that we can draw upon when we know what we must do but don't know how to do it." STRUCTURE AND ROLE MODELS
"We don't need to transform our relationships into friendships as a prerequisite to inviting others to learn about the gospel. Whether our platform with people is as neighbors, classmates, work associates, store clerks, or those riding on the same bus, there is no requirement to change that platform before we can invite them. Indeed, we need not and should not alter our relationships with others in order to invite them. Full-time missionaries don't wait to become friends with their contacts. ... A relationship of trust is built when they have the chance to teach."
"We must be honest, loving and direct. These are God's ways."
"Most of us fear failure. Once we have realized that we succeed as member missionaries when we invite people to learn and accept the truth, much of the fear that kept us from sharing the gospel vanishes. We give them the opportunity to exercise their free agency. Some will use that agency to accept the gospel. Others will not and that's fine. We succeed when we invite. God can actually help you find someone to hear the missionary discussions, if you will just do your part and invite."
Use religious words in my day-to-day conversations. "Using these words in conversation opens a door for people to ask, "Oh--so you're a Mormon?" I respond, "I am, and it is a wonderful church. Why do you ask?" I have found it helpful to ask, "Why do you ask?" rather than telling them information that they do not care about."
"What we're interested in isn't what they are interested in. In 1975 the Church did an extensive survey of new converts to determine what it was about the Church that had initially interested them. (see L.F.Anderson, "What are Nonmembers Interested In?" Ensign, October 1977.) These were the results, in order of frequency mentioned:
1. The feeling of closeness to God that they wanted to experience because they could see this closeness in the lives of Mormons they knew.
2. Happiness and a sense of peace, which they wanted and which they saw in the lives of Mormons they knew.
3. They wanted a better sense of purposefulness and direction in their lives. They tended to see this in Mormons they knew.
Only 9 percent of new converts said that doctrine was the main thing that attracted them to the Church. For all who are baptized and remain active, doctrine becomes much of the glue that cements them in the Church. But it typically isn't what they were looking for at the outset.
What this means is that when someone gives us a chance to tell them about us, as a general rule we ought not to tell them what we like about our own church--about the doctrine that we love so much. Rather, when I respond with a question like "It's a great church. Why do you ask?" if they don't have anything specific in mind, then I answer with something relating to the three reasons noted above."
"The salient difference between other churches and the LDS Church is the depth and breadth of understanding of God's plan for us."
pg. 36 Great Story of shifting your approach from "You need the church, to The Church needs YOU." Invite others to join us with serving in the church. They feel needed, they realize we have a lot in common and can feel the spirit.
There are two fundamentally different ways to be a missionary: through word and through deed.
**Most teachers give their students a step-by-step checklist of what needs to be done. Good teachers often then illustrate the instructions with stories. Use metaphors, stories and parables to illustrate key points, to help visualize what to do.
**TEACH WITH LOVE
Forgiveness: pg 62-63
In the equation that determines whether we can find people for the missionaries to teach, God's role is a constant, not a variable. He always keeps His promises. The only variable is whether we have the faith that we will be blessed with miracles if we make commitments to God and then obediently do what we said we would do.
When investigators repeatedly fail to keep commitments, we and the missionaries are prone to conclude that the investigators really are not interested. But often investigators don't do these things because they don't know how. ... They've never done it before. Our default assumption should be that they don't know how.
**Prayer and How God Speaks to Us (Amazing!) pg. 96-97 He does not use mechanical/electrical waves...the spirit speaks to your spirit--feelings, thoughts.
If God cannot trust the members of the Church to invite these people to learn His gospel, why would He put them in our path? And if God can't trust us to make His children feel loved and needed after they join the church, why would God guide these people there in the first place?
If He can't trust us, then He must use other means to answer the prayers of others.
**Love and care for His children. Wrap them into your arms and make them feel welcome the minute they come in to church. (**Lift where you stand. Open your mouth and your arms.) John 13:35
D&C 58:26-29
D&C 84:88
Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
